According to a major new report published by the Juno Evidence Alliance, the most climate-vulnerable countries with the highest hunger rates are significantly under-represented in agrifood research. The State of the Field for Research on Agrifood Systems report finds that only one out of eight research papers is led by scientists from the 81 poorest countries. It calls for urgent action and increased investments to redress this imbalance.
The Juno Evidence Alliance is a Hesat2030 initiative that is led by Hesat2030 Co-Chair Jaron Porciello who is also the lead author of this new report.
Poised to shape future research agendas for greater food security
This ground-breaking report, which used artificial intelligence to assess 6.3 million scientific titles, abstracts, and metadata spanning the years 2010 to 2023, sourced from CAB Abstracts, offers an overview of current outcomes from research and is poised to shape future research agendas for greater food security with donors and governments.
The report highlights how research publication in agriculture and food systems have increased more than 60% in the past decade, with publications spanning over 35,000 journals and technical reports within agricultural domains alone.
It also presents a series of recommendations including calls for increased funding to support original research efforts in the world’s poorest countries – focusing on regions most vulnerable to climate change and hunger.
Inclusive and equitable development within food systems
According to Jaron, “This report aligns scientific research with policy imperatives, concentrating on outcomes and interventions proposed by scientists to guide inclusive and equitable development within food systems across low-and middle-income countries.”
However, dominance in agricultural research publications by countries such as China, the USA, Brazil and India, the scientists say, underscores the need for enhanced focus on regions with disproportionately lower research output.
Insights crucial for informed policymaking
The Juno Evidence Alliance brings together researchers, policymakers, publishers, computer and data scientists, and evidence advocates from across fields and disciplines to break down traditional boundaries between research production and use. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and established scientific research methods, it expedites the synthesis of diverse data sources, delivering scientific and technical conclusions for governments, funders, and policymakers worldwide.
The Juno Evidence Alliance is co-founded by CABI, the University of Notre Dame, and Havos.AI, with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in the United Kingdom, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the US Agency for International Development.
Its pioneering platform is used by numerous evidence-based reports published by Hesat2030, Avanzar2030 and the Zero Hunger Coalition.
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